Monsoon Safety Tips

Here are some tips from the Salt River Fire Department to help you protect yourself and your family when a big storm hits.

OUTDOORS

Lightning is attracted to metal and water, and tends to strike the highest or tallest objects.

YOU ARE IN A STRIKE ZONE IF YOU HEAR THUNDER FIVE SECONDS OR LESS AFTER YOU SEE LIGHTNING!

Avoid wide, open areas such as fields and golf courses.
Stay off hilltops and other high points of land.
Don’t stand near trees or tall poles.
Get at least 7 feet away from tall objects.
Avoid metal objects such as golf carts and clubs, lawn mowers and pipes.
Get to the lowest point of ground you can, and kneel or squat to minimize your contact points with the ground.
Do not lie flat. This will make you a bigger target.
Don’t huddle with others. Spread out at least 15 feet apart.
Remove golf shoes or steel-toed boots.
If you’re out on the water, get to land.
If you’re in a pool, get out.

DOWNED POWER LINES

Stay at least 100 feet away.
If the power line has fallen on your car while you’re in it, don’t touch anything metal in the car, and stay inside until professional help arrives.
Never try to help someone trapped by a power line. You endanger your own safety. Instead, call 911 immediately.

INDOOR SAFETY

Stay away from windows during strong winds. Tree limbs and other wind-borne objects can be a hazard.
Electrical wiring attracts lightning. Avoid using the telephone, except for emergencies.
Lighting can move through a home’s plumbing, attracted to the metal or water. Avoid using sinks and showers.
Disconnect computers, TVs and other delicate electronic equipment. Consider attaching surge protectors to such equipment.

DRIVING SAFETY

In Dust:

Don’t enter a dust storm if you can avoid it.
Turn headlights on and slow to a prudent speed.
If you pull off the road, get as far to the right as possible. Turn off the car and headlights, and set the parking brake. Keep your foot off the brake pedal – other drivers may think you’re a car in motion.

In Rain:

Rain reduces traction and causes tires to hydroplane. Slow your speed accordingly.
Water on roads may be deeper than it looks. Watch for vehicles travelling too fast. They can throw up blinding sheets of water.
Don’t cross rain-swollen washes. You can be caught in a flash flood that can sweep your vehicle and its contents away.
Pay attention to hazard signs and roadblocks. Ignoring them threatens life and property, and can result in enforcement action by police.

Stuck in a wash: (Control of a vehicle is lost in 6 inches of water. Most vehicles will begin to float in 2 feet of water.)

If you have a phone, call 911.
If you can, climb onto the roof and wait to be rescued.
If the water is still low and you can wade to safety, do so, but beware of floating debris.

ARIZONA’S “STUPID MOTORIST LAW”

28-910. Liability for emergency responses in flood areas; definitions

A. A driver of a vehicle who drives the vehicle on a public street or highway that is temporarily covered by a rise in water level, including groundwater or overflow of water, and that is barricaded because of flooding is liable for the expenses of any emergency response that is required to remove from the public street or highway the driver or any passenger in the vehicle that becomes inoperable on the public street or highway or the vehicle that becomes inoperable on the public street or highway, or both.

B. A person convicted of violating section 28-693 for driving a vehicle into any area that is temporarily covered by a rise in water level, including groundwater or overflow of water, may be liable for expenses of any emergency response that is required to remove from the area the driver or any passenger in the vehicle that becomes inoperable in the area or the vehicle that becomes inoperable in the area, or both.

C. The expenses of an emergency response are a charge against the person liable for those expenses pursuant to subsection A or B of this section. The charge constitutes a debt of that person and may be collected proportionately by the public agencies, for-profit entities or not-for-profit entities that incurred the expenses. The person’s liability for the expenses of an emergency response shall not exceed two thousand dollars for a single incident. The liability imposed under this section is in addition to and not in limitation of any other liability that may be imposed.

D. An insurance policy may exclude coverage for a person’s liability for expenses of an emergency response under this section.

E. For the purposes of this section:

“Expenses of an emergency response” means reasonable costs directly incurred by public agencies, for-profit entities or not-for-profit entities that make an appropriate emergency response to an incident.
“Public agency” means this state and any city, county, municipal corporation, district or other public authority that is located in whole or in part in this state and that provides police, fire fighting, medical or other emergency services.
“Reasonable costs” includes the costs of providing police, fire fighting, rescue and emergency medical services at the scene of an incident and the salaries of the persons who respond to the incident but does not include charges assessed by an ambulance service that is regulated pursuant to title 36, chapter 21.1, article 2.